Dear Editor,
Democracy, it is often said, is the governing of society by a majority mandate. However, this is only partly true, it is much more than that.
The democratic system must also safeguard the rights of the minorities as it does the rights of the majority. Minority here is used broadly to include those in the minority as to opinion.
To do so, society has developed various institutions to ensure that the law is applied equitable and that fundamental human rights are protected, upheld, and promoted.
All democratic societies have three fundamental divisions of powers. They are the Executive, normally elected at free and fair elections; the Legislative, the Parliament where laws are discussed, debated and passed; and the Judiciary, this branch of Government interprets the laws and ensure that it applies to all equally.
In dictatorial countries, there are no such divisions; power is always concentrated in the Executive. The Parliament and the Judiciary are reduced to serve the Executive. They pass laws that the Executive wants and give decisions in courts to serve the political wishes of the Executive.
To ensure that the functions of these bodies are fair, society has sought to give them independence, to insulate them from the pressures of the Executive. Other important institutions of the State are also treated similarly. These include Police and the Elections Commission, to name but two others.
To allow those important bodies to function independently, the individuals appointed are given security of tenure. Persons in the constitutional offices cannot be dismissed by the whims and fancies of the Executive. They should not have to fear of losing their jobs.
Dictatorships, on the other hand, do not recognise the division of powers. They ensure that the Parliament, the Courts, the Police, etc, serve the interest of the dictator or the party in power.
Dictatorships, like democracies, vary in form. We can have open, brutal dictatorships as military coups; or we have seen dictatorships appearing to be democracies. These are dictatorships that come about creepingly. They have the form and trappings of a democracy.
They hold elections that are rigged to stay in power. They have Parliaments, where the Speaker acts more like a gendarme to shut down debates and threaten members of the Assembly. In other words, as a deliberative body, the Assembly is subverted. It becomes a rubber stamp for the dictator.
The Judiciary in such cases also acts as an arm of the Executive. As the dictatorship is strengthened, the Judiciary gives the Executive what he/she wants.
Mr Ashton Chase, OE, once, while speaking of the PNC dictatorship in the 1970s through 1992 said that there came a point when the dictator did not have to instruct the Judges what to do. They anticipated what he wanted and dutifully delivered.
That is why the appointments of persons to these high positions are so very important. The character and integrity of the individuals become extremely important, very vital. The institutions are managed by individuals. Therefore, individuals here acquire really great significance; such people when they remain loyal to their oath, the society is strengthened in every way. When they succumb to pressure by the Executive and act as an instrument of the Executive, the society deteriorates.
Persons appointed to constitutional institutions should know of the huge responsibilities they carry for the country. They cannot afford to compromise the laws or act unfairly and unjustly to please a political party or a person that they may favour. To do so will be pushing the whole country down a path of dictatorship which leads to ruination of economics, politics and social life of society as a whole.
Sincerely,
Donald Ramotar
Former President